The sun baked the national roads scalding. The returning procession of His Imperial Highness The Prince and Her Imperial Highness The Princess had initiated from Andrew Haila on the 14th day of the 8th month. By the 20th, it had already passed by a large half of the Narcissus County. Along the way, both the Imperial household members had already visited quite a few downright enormous strongholds and barracks. Alanis had no interest in these because, in her eyes, all these knights born with a low status were all similar looking. However, she knew that the little Prince was rather enjoying himself, so she forced herself to put on a smile.
Before Oscar departed, he had consulted the scholar of his family regarding the aspects of diplomacy. Since the Emperor had ordered him to take up the task of welcoming the Imperial Envoy of Italia’s Royal Household, he should not humiliate himself or the country. However, the teen quickly realized that he had wasted one of his precious resources; he had forgotten that he had an extremely reputable diplomat on his side.
Toby Ryan Creech, the son of the former dynasty’s Secretary of State. This youngster was arrested and sent to prison because he pretended to be a diplomatic envoy, and naturally, he was an expert in this field. When the little Prince requested help from this skillful impostor who had assumed the name of Baron Erbe, Ricky agreed to help him settle the details of his diplomatic speech, protocols, and few other aspects.
"Ricky, why do you want to be a conman? Could it be that bad being a genuine diplomat?" Oscar was a little curious, he realized that after all these years, he had never asked his friend about his motive of committing the crime. "I believe that if you are willing to, then you will definitely be more outstanding than anyone else."
"Of course Your Imperial Highness, I also thought so!" Baron Erbe nodded his head, "however, you’ve got a point wrong there, the so-called diplomats are the true swindlers! Their mouths speak of getting along peacefully while in actuality, they secretly instigated an armed rebellion and conducted intelligence work."
"Who did you hear that from?" Oscar was unconvinced. In his eyes, a true diplomat should naturally have characteristics and personal integrity that would cause another to have faith in them.
"Do you know how my family gained fame and fortune?" Baron Erbe did not directly answer the youngster’s question.
"I am not too clear."
"Let me tell you," the Baron moistened the side of his cigarette paper with saliva, "my clan has produced many diplomats; towards the end, they even controlled all the external activities of the Empire’s Secret Service Department. Quite a few Emperors of the Morisette Dynasty relied heavily on the Creech household in foreign affairs. This situation persisted for several generations until a certain Emperor became worried of our house going wrong, and so they dismissed us from the field of the Secret Service, and allowed our family’s leader to assume office as the Secretary of State."
"Then after that, the Creech family slowly weakened?"
"Yes, Your Imperial Highness, the Imperial Household of Morisette discarded the once diplomatic experts." Ricky lighted his cigarette.
"Oh, that’s right, you haven’t told me why you want to become a conman."
"No, Your Imperial Highness, please forgive me, this is a topic I wish to bring to the grave," Ricky replied deadpan.
"Suit yourself!" Oscar shrugged nonchalantly.
***************
The procession continued on their journey. Murat, the Division Commander of Red Tiger Assault Division, regulated the procession strictly. He had to continuously send out scouts to the surroundings and to keep an eye on the supplementary soldiers. These supplementary soldiers were all young lads who had recently just joined the knight’s regiment. Among them were even those who had not reached their drinking age yet.
Murat was greatly perturbed about his recruits. For starters, these recruits had caused a lot of problems during the march, such as suddenly falling ill, shouting the wrong call sign, failing to distinguish between enemies and allies, startling the horses so much that they went out of control, dozing off during their night guard duty and so on. When Murat thought about these, he felt deeply ashamed of himself. Now he was indeed like a nanny who was looking after others’ children. Furthermore, he also had a prominent rank of a Major General Commander.
Kamille Rayen was again walking together with the little Prince. This paladin had just received a promotion and now he was the Red Tiger’s battle commander. The paladin felt a little sorrowful thinking of the countless soldiers of his who had already fallen. Did His Imperial Highness The Prince want to go welcome these Italians? And even wanted to do so with an amicable attitude? When Kamille thought about this, he felt deeply wronged. However, he knew that this was something that could not be helped.
His Imperial Highness The Prince Oscar was evidently brimming with curiosity towards visiting the Royal Household of Italia. This youngster did not like to take out his anger on others; that was a sign of the weak. When he encountered problems, he was used to giving it a three-second thought. Only three seconds was needed for him to distinguish between foes and allies. The lineage of the Royal Household of Italia was not noble, but they did have a history that compared to that of the Titan’s Imperial household. However, just basing solely on this point was sufficient to earn teen’s respect. This was because Oscar understood that a ruler who could stand tall for hundreds of years among the Western powers was definitely full of wisdom. He believed that the Royal Household of Italia would not do things that were obviously digging their own grave.
Her Imperial Highness The Princess, on the other hand, did not dwell much with rushing here and there. Having been used to being the Empire’s Princess, she still preferred people to submit to her reports while kneeling respectfully by her feet. Although this did not mean that Her Imperial Highness Princess lacked her own views, but most of the time, this princess was feeling indeed a little lackadaisical.
However, the young lady from the house of Andrew, on the other hand, saw the Princess’ laziness quite thoroughly. She even mentioned to her brother that the Princess’ character was more or less like that of her Emperor father. She appeared as if she was unconcerned about the matter, but when you brought it up, the Princess would shoot you a glare so powerful it felt like it was scooping your heart out.
"Sasha, Alanis is an extremely brilliant girl, she is different from all the other princesses!"
The young lady accepted her brother’s evaluation of Her Imperial Highness Princess. She felt that she herself had to be on guard because since she accompanied her brother to begin the journey. This princess had been eyeing her with an extremely strange look. Although it was not to the extent of wanting to scoop out her heart, the young lady already felt extremely uncomfortable.
The procession rested a day at a city in the Narcissus County that was nearest to the Empire’s southeastern part for the purposes of reorganization. The Prince brought the young lady to visit a few local commanding officers of the United Army and the Front’s garrison. This was the defending region of the Liszt Front. At that moment, the Commander and the Second in Command of the Liszt Front were leading the main force of the army to cruise along the national border of Italia, so when His Imperial Highness The Prince entered the city, he was not met by the whole military.
The procession was going to enter the southern mountain area next. Although Bodega Province’s terrain was fairly level, Murat still organized for people to help change the gears of the procession with equipment that were more suited for marching and combat in the mountainous terrains.
Andrew had control over the Eastern border of the Titan Empire; his piece of land was illustrated on the map as a long and narrow zone from the south to the north. The Narcissus Knight Regiment was probably the only unit in the world to have carried out battles in all sorts of terrestrial environments because the geographical environments of Andrew’s territories were highly complicated. The basin plains intertwined among the towering mountains, the rivers and lakes crisscrossed within the primitive forest; towards the most Eastern part of the territory, the vegetation became more and more overgrown and signs of human habitation become less and less. When you realized that the last of the shrubs had disappeared behind you, then a vast desert, as far as the eyes could see, would then emerge before you.
The Red Tiger Assault Division had once been the heroic army, battling from one place to another in Narcissus. They had the rich experience of carrying out battle on all types of terrains. Although at that moment they had already lost a big ounce of outstanding fighting manpower, this was not important, the crucial point was that Murat was still here! His Imperial Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette was not entirely clear about Murat’s ability to command because he had yet to have the opportunity to witness the Assault Division Commander, who was leading the Red Tigers, putting his assault methods to use.
There were two occasions that opportunities like this arose, but the little Prince had missed both of them. The first time was a night raid; Murat had led the entire Red Tiger Division to surround the Persian Assassination unit's camp. At that time, the youngster was by a small brook, humiliating the Mogadishu Princess; another time was during an ambush when they were supporting the Traisen Front. At that time, there was a heavy rain and the youngster was at the outskirts of the battlefield, unable to differentiate between north and south and; there was no need to further mention about seeing anything worth learning.
Although the new recruits brought about a lot of problems to Murat, the Red Tigers still managed to complete the changing of gears and all necessary preparations within the allocated time. The Knights’ traveling knapsacks had an additional rope for climbing, it also had small-sized, bladed weapons that were suitable for close combat and to hurl, for example, the hook cables and throwing axes. If they were to fight in the jungle, the reflected rays of light on the surface of the metal armor would have caused the knights on the horses to turn into a mini Sun, so the knights had replaced the wax-oil used for armor maintenance with a dark brown, heavy wax. Once the heavy wax was rubbed onto the armors, it would become dull and this way, the knights could avoid being the targets of certain marksmen.
The Knights’ warhorses were the last to have their gears changed. Changing the horseshoes was an arduous chore. It would not be so if they cooperated, but they didn’t. It, more often than not, might take up a whole afternoon. However, this rigmarole which the Knights went through was worth it, the warhorses who had their horseshoes changed avoided having their feet slip on the mountainous region. Thus, the knights could feel at ease navigating their horses.
Under the assistance of the Liszt Front’s Senior Officer of Military Supplies, practically every member of the Red Tiger soldiers received a poncho. The rainy season of the southern region was still at its fiercest. To enter the mountains at this period of time, one must prepare an adequate amount of rainwear to shield against the wind and the rain.
Once Murat had finished settling all these things, he then reported to the little Prince. He could tell that the youngster was listening attentively, moreover, the lad also instructed him to add on additional rain tarps for the carriages stowing the army provisions. Murat was stunned for a while; this was his own carelessness, he only took into account the people and horses but had forgotten about the rations that the people and horses needed. If the flour and hay were to be soaked in the rain, they would become moldy and go bad quickly. Murat was a little suspicious, how did the teen know of this? This was an issue that even he, a seasoned soldier in marching and warfare, had overlooked.
He only knew, after asking, that the youngster had already suffered losses on his journey home from Dulin. After his procession was attacked, he had lost all the box wagons. In the end, the rain had washed the army provisions away. In the late part of the journey, he and Kamille’s Cavalry Company ate the what was provided by the mountain division.
"I really do not wish for you to be humiliated like Kamille!"
Although the little prince criticized him, Murat cheerfully accepted it. He was glad that this child did not forget the Red Tigers; he had already considered the Red Tigers to be an important party on his side!
***************
It was the 23rd day of the 8th month of Year 791 on Titan Empire’s Divine Light Calendar, O’Neil Andrew Morisette once again saw the boundary stone that stood on one side of the family territory. The inscriptions on it had once deeply touched this young lad.
"Here dwells Andrew, his knights and his people, welcome to the first and also the final defensive line set up by the God of Light!" Oscar stopped in front of the boundary stone and again read it silently.
"Just a blink of an eye and it is already another month!" Sasha approached riding on the horse, "just a while more brother, and it will be your sixteenth birthday; brother, you’re about to become an adult!"
Oscar grinned at the young lady. He did not care much about himself who was about to become a year older soon. "Sasha, once we step over this boundary stone, it will signify that we have completely left home; although we have our family’s blessings with us... are you afraid?"
"Yes, afraid!"
Oscar was startled; he did not imagine that his younger sister would answer this straightforwardly. "What are you afraid of? Can you talk to me about it?
"Afraid of LeFou! He seemed to be very much disgusted with the Narcissus perfume, as soon as I get close to him, it is as if he wants to pounce on me."
"Hahaha! So it is actually that little leopard!" Oscar broke into laughter, "Don’t you worry! I will secretly get rid of it, no one will know." The teen seemed as if he had resumed his ambitious and ruthless character back when he was in Damorga.
"Forget about it brother, if this world has things that scare you, it may not be such a bad thing."
"Why?"
"Because that will cause you to develop a fighting spirit, to make a stand and fight." Sasha gazed at the boundary stone, lost in thought; she would not tell Oscar what she was truly afraid of.
"Yes, that’s right." The prince nodded his head. He turned around and looked at the family territories behind him; he only saw low hills connected to the mountains in the distant, and the tall, lush, green grass drooping down dispiritedly under the scorching sun.
"It’s a little barren!" The prince commented, not without feeling a little sorrowful. In order to go through with the act to the end, the family did not send out any people of significance to send them off. Now, standing before the boundary stone, were only the youngster and his sister.
"Sasha, are you ready?" The Prince extended his hand towards the young lady, "On the other side of the boundary stone is a whole other world! A world where we need to fight continuously!"
"Brother, I have been prepared since a long time ago!" Sasha placed her hand on the Prince’s huge hand.
"Promise me, will you? Don’t call me brother anymore, you can call me Oscar like how others do."
Sasha’s face was suddenly flushed; Oscar gazed upon this beautiful sight without blinking.
"I… I’m afraid I will not be able to! It is too awkward! I’m not used to it at all." Sasha exclaimed while inclining her head to one side, she could not bear her brother’s watchful stare.
"No, Sasha! You will have ample time to get used to it! Perhaps a whole lifetime, I can’t say for sure!" Oscar lifted Sasha swiftly off from her little female horse. The young lady gave a yelp and just when she was about to struggle, she found herself already tightly in her brother’s… Oh no! In Oscar’s embrace!"
"My Raytheon!" The teen called out while laughing, "You little beast! Even though we’ve left our parents and left our homes, look at the lands in the west, we will be free to ride as we please there! Take me there!"
The youngster’s Raytheon Stallion seemed to have understood its young master’s words! It arched its neck and let out a deafening neigh, the earth began to fall backward with tremendous speed, the sceneries were starting to be left behind quickly. Being able to ride freely was an amazing feeling!
His Imperial Highness Prince O’Neil and the beautiful girl who was to accompany him for the rest of his life embarked on their new journey. Surely at that moment, the young boy did not know that once they left, it would be a very long time. When both of them once again returned home hand in hand, although O’Neil Andrew Morisette would still the prince of Titan, he would at that time, be the entire Empire’s true ruler.
***************
"Your Imperial Highness Princess!" The Red Tiger Division Commander, Major General Murat knocked respectfully on the door of the carriage that the Imperial Household was riding in.
"What is it?" Alanis opened her carriage window.
"Your Imperial Highness, I have come across some problems." Murat appeared flustered.
"Would you mind telling me about it?" Alanis chuckled. During this journey, she had built up a friendship with this higher order Narcissus Knight. Murat was not like any of the other ordinary soldiers; he was not only born from a blue-blood family in Narcissus County, but his looks, his speech, his knowledge and other aspects were all exceedingly remarkable.
"Your Imperial Highness, it’s like this! The one who came to greet us was The First Mountain Division of the Empire’s Seventh District’s First Army. They brought to us the warrant from His Majesty the Emperor, permitting my division to enter the country, but I do not know where my direct commanding officer, which is His Imperial Highness The Prince, has run off to; I cannot find a person of suitable status to sign the acceptance!"
"Hold on a minute!" Alanis felt extremely astonished! "Enter into the country? Your Distinguished Major General, are you really using this phrase? This is too weird, it’s not like the Narcissus County is a foreign country!"
"Your Imperial Highness!" Murat could only give a bitter laugh for the Princess’ question, "Any issues regarding the shift in the Narcissus knights’ armed forces have been recorded in the Titan Codex. On it, it states clearly that if any Narcissus knight group and above were to step out of Andrew’s territories, then, to show approval, it requires a written order from His Majesty the Emperor."
Alanis suddenly came to a realization and nodded her head; she immediately understood what all this was about! However, she instantly crinkled up her face into a smile, "Then very well! My status should be adequate to accept my Father’s Order!" Saying this, she then took the pen the Major General handed over to her and signed her position and her full name at the inscription area of the order document.
"Thank you, Your Imperial Highness!" Murat joined in on the laugh. He carefully took the order document and, after waiting for the ink to dry, rolled it up. "Your Imperial Highness, we can now be on our way!"
"Certainly. However, can you tell me where His Imperial Highness Prince had gone off to?" The Princess was still smiling beautifully.
"I apologize Your Imperial Highness, I myself am not clear as well, he went off by himself over to the boundary stone," Murat replied readily, not revealing any hints that he was hiding a few things.
"Oh…" The Princess nodded her head lightly.
"Your Imperial Highness, it seems that you are extremely concerned about our young master from the House of Andrew!" Murat did not mind chatting about casual matters within the Princess’ acceptable standards.
"Hehe, he is my younger cousin, and speaking of which, among those of similar age in the Imperial Household, I really only have this one younger brother!" The Princess said that while closing the carriage windows, "So being concerned about him is only what I am supposed to do."
Murat saluted respectfully outside the carriage, but he did not wait for the Princess to respond. Alanis’ heart was very confused, but she dared not and would not express any of her irritated feelings. She had been taught by the Imperial Household’s Court Tutor to keep her feelings to herself. However, very few people knew that this Imperial Highness Princess’ success throughout her whole life was attained through the motivation given to her by a youngster.
When she was young, that humiliating and terrifying matter had long since been embedded deeply into Princess Alanis Alfa Morisette’s mind. She would never forget that youngster who appeared to never be able to be knocked down by others. She knew that that youngster from that moment on had seized her heart.
During the later days, His Imperial Highness Prince and his Red Tiger Division sped up their advancement. They had received news that the visiting group of the Italia’s Royal Household had already entered the country.
What was out of Oscar’s expectation was that the Division Commander of 1-1 Division of the Seventh Region sent by the Empire’s front to join him, to his surprise, was still the same person. When Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt Brandy met the youngster, he still revered in him like before. This officer of the Imperial guards knelt down on one knee, his chest closely pressed up against his thigh. Oscar pulled him up off the ground delightedly. The youngster was aware that his direct knights were watching and he felt a twinge of happiness.
The next part of the journey became more meaningful; Kamille Rayen and the Division commander of the 1-1 Snow Lions, both knew the youngster. Oscar was practically inseparable from these two men and they apparently have neverending issues to discuss. As the leader of the Prince’s direct cavalry, Murat did not complain about the cold shoulder given to him, on the contrary, he was still quite busy. Murat’s supplementary soldiers had already started to undergo the first phase of their training. Murat had set up a rich curriculum. This included pitching tents, digging a trench, building a fence, cleaning and maintaining the war equipment, road repairs, carriage repairs, bathing the horses, feeding the horses, and also the most hated among the recruits, shining their boots.
Both the heroic armies of the Red Tigers and Snow Lions, that similarly had a legend, had no issues of communication between them. Although both soldiers on each side had distinct army camps, they would usually still slip into the other’s campgrounds to have a chat after dinner or during their rest time. Most of the soldiers of the Snow Lions came from the area where the snow line was higher in the southern mountain area and because they had a rosy complexion, the Red Tiger soldiers loved to call them "The mountain people who loved to blush"; the huge red cloaks of the Red Tiger knights inspired the Snow Lion soldiers and they returned the Red Tiger’s compliment with, "The people of Narcissus who carried a huge strawberry"!
Although the daily 19km army progress caused him to feel extremely exhausted, His Imperial Highness Prince just loved this kind of atmosphere. Each day, he could watch the knights set out in a formation early in the morning, in the afternoon he would see them collapse in a bundle together as adorable as guinea pigs catching up on sleep. When night came, there were many more activities engaged in by the knights. There were wrestling, trial of strength, sword fight and so on. Those who enjoyed bodybuilding, under the pressure of the busybodies, would strip their shirts and trousers to compare their muscles. In the end, such development caused a few females in the procession dared not leave their tents alone at night.
In a day, the little prince only had the opportunity to properly lie flat on the bed after the sun had gone down. The bed was not very comfortable, but the youngster already could not care much about it. Little Oscar who had been released from prison was constantly changing. Firstly when it came to his character, if he were in Damorga, this youngster would have erupted with anger because the maids broke a cup, and would kill mercilessly just because the secret agents did not salute to him when they passed. Now, he already rarely angered. Furthermore, he had already personally witnessed the fragility and value of life on his family’s battlefield. Secondly, was his life. Since those maids who had an intimate relationship with him were brutally murdered, he had already controlled the number of females that he came into contact with to only a few. Furthermore, his indulgence in cozy furniture had toned down a little; the army camp which did not have a polar bear sofa and, instead just an extremely simple hammock, would be sufficient to satisfy the Prince’s needs.
At that moment, the youngster was sitting on the bed, savoring the mountain area’s special self-made Deer Penis Liquor1 contentedly. Oscar had never heard the term Deer Penis, perhaps this was the dialect that the inhabitants of the mountain had used. Oscar loved the taste of this type of wine; what’s even harder to come by was that this type of low standard liquor, to his surprise, still had quite strong, lingering aftereffects.
"Your Imperial Highness, I have to speak to you about something." Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt Brandy gazed at the youngster a little anxiously. After he watched the young lad finish drinking his third cup of Deer Penis Liquor, he could not bear it any longer. "Your Imperial Highness, where did you get this from?"
"From one of your Regimental Commanders. That chap was acting all mysterious and refused to let me taste it, in the end, I requested one of his followers to steal all of his stock!" The little prince said these while laughing gleefully.
"Uh…" Hyatt scratched his head, he felt that this was a tricky situation, "Your Imperial Highness, this sort of liquor… This sort of liquor is not suitable for children… Ah no, I mean this sort of liquor is only for those grown men to drink."
"I have certainly never heard of that!" Oscar waved his hand, "This is not a big deal, believe me, Hyatt, I have tasted more wine than you."
"This I believe..." Hyatt honestly did not know what to say, "But Your Imperial Highness, this sort of liquor is very strong! It...It can thoroughly stimulate a male’s potential, it...Uhh... Forget about it! In short, you cannot drink anymore!"
Oscar was already almost done drinking; he spread out his hands indifferently. He felt that this Lieutenant Colonel did not make any sense.
"Oh, that’s right Hyatt, I have a question." The little Prince finally put down the wine glass, "According to my knowledge... The Narcissus Knights Regiment and the Imperial guards treat the setup of the ranks of Commissioned Officers the same, but why does the Red Tiger have a Major General Division Commander while you are merely a Lieutenant Colonel? Both are heroic armies, and both are of the division level, so why do you and Murat have such a huge difference?"
Hyatt gazed at the youngster suspiciously, "you don’t know?"
"Of course, if I knew, would I still have asked you?"
"Hehe," Hyatt gave a bitter laugh, "Your Imperial Highness, it seems that you really have stayed too long in prison so much so that you already lost the awareness of a noble, you know? When your Division Commander is not in uniform, he is Count Murat, but as for me? After I take off my uniform, I am the son of a forest keeper. This is the fundamental reason behind why I am a Lieutenant Colonel while Division Commander Murat is a Major General."
"No wonder!" Oscar was very bright; he realized right away that Hyatt was an officer born of commoners.
Having a disparity in identities, the class status was very different. Both Oscar and Hyatt both thought about these existing differences between them.
"Your Imperial Highness, do you believe? If you were to join the army with the status of the Empire’s Prince, then you would immediately be awarded a Lieutenant General or even the military rank of General; while if it were a commoner, let me just tell you this, a Major General would be the end point of his military career. In the history of Titan, there hasn’t been even one commoner who could break through the threshold of a Major General."
"That can’t be!" Oscar was utterly appalled, "this is absolutely not fair! Don’t tell me that the officers born a commoner do not have the ability to command a corps or even a region?"
"Your Imperial Highness, I am delighted to talk to you, but it also makes me feel very depressed," Hyatt’s smile was filled with frustration, "Your Imperial Highness, I think it’s still best if you not bring this up with anyone. Because... if the other is a noble, he will definitely feel that you are impervious to reason; if it is a commoner, then he will definitely feel that you are a fake noble."
"You mean to say that... nobles won’t think like I do?" Oscar had difficulty believing.
"Of course not, but there are definitely not many who think like you. Because... Because... how do I put it?" Hyatt carefully deliberated his speech, "Your Imperial Highness, because this is a kind of mindset! The tradition and customs of the Empire’s noble class did not include an understanding of the commoners. Take a look, the lands are the nobles’, the forests are the nobles’, the mines are the nobles’, even the rivers are named after the noble. This country belongs to the nobles and it has absolutely nothing to do with the commoners, so who then would care about the commoners’ views?"
Oscar shook his head continuously, "No! No! You are wrong! How can this country have nothing to do with the commoners? This country’s everything is built up by the commoners’ hands, bit by bit, from barren land!"
"That’s right!" Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt’s raised his voice, "But everything that the commoners construct, all goes back to the nobles, and Titan... is ultimately founded by the nobles. The existence and development of this country are for the nobles."
The little Prince was dumbstruck.
"Your Imperial Highness, you still don’t know! For years, the riches that the nobles obtained from the commoners already dwindled and for this reason, they could only constantly emerge with new methods to rob! Just like when I was young, there was a huge lake outside the doors of my home. I loved to eat the big-eyed whitebait in the lake the most. However, one day my family and I were suddenly informed that the big-eyed whitebait in the lake was the private property of a Baron in the city and those who caught this particular fish had to pay taxes to the Baron. Hehe, by the time I became a grown man, the things that the lake produced had already been divided completely."
"This...This is not fair!" The youngster insisted.
Hyatt stared at the youngster, thinking, and he suddenly came to a realization, "I understand Your Imperial Highness, you were born of the Andrew Family. The nobles of the Andrew Family are the ones who respect the commoners the most in the world because their wars are entirely supported by the people. If there was no backing and support from the people, if none of the people joined the army with no turning back, I believe the Andrew family would have long since perished!"
"Yes, I come from Andrew, you are right!" Oscar pondered, "the mindsets of the people at home and the nobles of the Empire here, were completely different. In the Narcissus Knights, a majority of the high-ranking military officers are born of commoners, and on the contrary, the nobles only make up a few of them."
"Yes!" Hyatt exhibited a yearning expression, "the people say that if you want to join the army, then go to Narcissus County. The commoners are like this, even some of the noble families are like this; they send their child to the Narcissus Knights because it was definitely not a conceited Imperial Guard Government Office, but rather a place where they nurtured the true men."
"Yes, do you know? Even the grandson of the Empire’s Military Affairs Chancellor, Marshal Alan, is serving in the army under the banner of the Andrew Family." Oscar recalled the young Major General, but the lad’s name had slipped his mind.
Having said as much, it tent suddenly fell silent. It seemed both of them no longer had the desire to continue speaking of the issue about the nobles.
"A change of topic?" Oscar voiced up.
"Certainly Your Imperial Highness."
The prince crawled up from his bed, "Hey! I say, Hyatt, how do you retain your military office? The Princess and I had the accident in your defending region and according to what you said, you would have definitely been removed from office and even punished according to the law. Originally I already planned that I must come to your rescue when I went over to the south, but now I see that you are, to my surprise, getting by quite nicely!"
"Your Imperial Highness..." Hyatt groaned, " this is another issue that makes me feel depressed, but... after I answer, will you look down on me?"
"Why would I do that?"
"Then very well! Ten years ago when I just enlisted, a beautiful noble young lady and I were in love. At first, I thought that that young lady’s family would not accept a commoner, but out of my expectations, I really received the General’s recognition. He did not hesitate one bit to marry off his only daughter to me. So... So this time I was able to escape punishment by law, was all because of my father-in-law’s protection. This also means that I depended on nepotism to survive it."
"Who is that general?"
"The Empire’s General, the Commander of the Imperial Guard’s Southern Army Group, Eugene Mir Bradley."
"You’re saying... you’re saying that you are the son-in-law of the Commander of the three Southern Military Region?"
"That’s right! Marrying off a lady countess to a commoner. In the entire world, only General Eugene would do such a thing."
"No, Hyatt, you should not think that way." The prince patted Hyatt on the shoulder like an adult, "General Eugene did nothing wrong, he found the best home for his daughter."
Hyatt’s eyes unexpectedly reddened, "Your Imperial Highness, hehe, to be honest, over so many years, you are the first to say this. Others are pressuring me, others feel that it is not worth it for my wife, they..."
"Hyatt." Oscar interrupted the Lieutenant Colonel’s words, "You are the Division Commander of the 1-1 Snow Lions. You are the fiercest and most ruthless of them all! The others may say that, could it be that you then think that way as well? They are scums, vermins! The sole reason they live in this world is to gossip about others. I believe my judgment, what’s more, my judgment has already been acknowledged by General Eugene. You, a commoner, are a good man! A good example!"
"Thank you!" Hyatt felt a little emotional; he wanted to quickly end the topic. "So... Your Imperial Highness, it’s already very late, I should take my leave."
Without waiting for the Prince’s answer, Hyatt turned around and walked away. However, after some pondering, he turned back, "Your Imperial Highness, I am confiscating this bottle of liquor. It being close to you is highly dangerous, it will cause you to... have nightmares."
Before Oscar could respond, the Division Commander of the Snow Lions already snatched the bottle of liquor and slipped away.
Oscar looked at the tent that seemed to be rising and falling, lost in thought. He now started to suspect that that bottle of liquor indeed had problems.
The problem was indeed very grave!
Oscar already did not know the number of times he got up from bed; he felt that his heart was palpitating wildly in his chest. Moreover, a certain thing at his lower abdomen was swelling like it never had before! Damn it! The prince cursed in a low voice. He now finally understood why only grown men could drink that bottle of liquor.
His head was dizzy, his eyelids were heavy, but his mind was extremely excited. What was this all about? What kind of feeling was this? Oscar was suddenly filled with the urge to run a few rounds around the camp.
Just do it!
"Your Imperial Highness!" The knight bodyguard patrolling that night saluted the prince.
Oscar wanted to ask them all to move aside, but the knight bodyguard on duty refused to budge despite anything he said. Feeling helpless, the Prince could only turn and head towards a secluded spot in the camp.
When passing by one of the tents, Oscar suddenly heard some faint singing. The youngster was a little emotionally moved; he subconsciously stopped to listen.
"Oh faraway homeland, where Narcissus bloom, that pearly white radiance, paves my way home, I’m going home! I’m going home! At home, my family awaits, and the pearly white Narcissus."
"Annie’s lullaby!" Oscar recalled that this was a nursery rhyme that had accompanied him through countless nights.
"Oh goodness, gracious! How long have you been standing there?" Annie, who was knitting a woolen sweater, suddenly noticed the youngster’s silhouette under the candlelight.
"Annie, you still followed me here?" Oscar gazed at this lady who had watched him grow up and sighed heavily.
"Or else, where else can I go?"
Oscar’s mind was not very clear, he was not sure whether he first apologized to Annie, or he first carried her to the bed and caressed her before talking.
"Uh... Annie, in Andrew Haila, I think that both of us have already calmed down a little, right?" Oscar rubbed his nose; this was a gesture that he did whenever he felt awkward or nervous.
"No, there is not a moment when I can calm down. In the cemetery of Valhalla, I heard the words that you spoke to Kamille from a distant, do you know? My heart was almost shattered! Furthermore, you secretly ran onto the battlefield, I can’t even tell you how I felt when I heard that piece of news because even though you have cast me aside, at least I still get to see you. However, if you..."
"Annie!" Oscar scuttled forwards swiftly. Under the Countess’ stunned gaze, he embraced the Madame tightly.
"Oh god! Wait a minute!" Annie pushed the teen away, "You are having a high fever, and your body heat almost burned me. How come no one told me that you were sick? What are those followers of yours doing? Oh goodness, gracious! They are as expected, a group of people who cannot be trusted!"
It was unclear whether Annie was just being worried or getting angry. She aggressively pushed the youngster onto the bed that still lingered with the smell of a woman.
Oscar started to give off an abnormal moan. This feeling was great, there was already a person on the bed, is there not?
Annie was muttering on and on. She flipped open her first aid kit and prepared a warm, wet towel.
"Come closer a little!" "Come closer a little!" Oscar called out silently!
"Good!" The youngster’s hands made contact with tinder that could ignite all things, "I’ve caught you!"
The knight bodyguards who were on duty to guard His Imperial Highness Prince that night stood in a row outside Countess Antonia Horman’s tent. They would not let anyone approach this tent, particularly when the beautiful lady was crying out with sheer joy.
"You rascal! Have you eaten something wrong?"
"Annie, don’t talk... Now... Now is not the time to say these!"
Translator Note:
1. Deer Penis Liquor translated from the Mandarin term 鹿鞭泡酒
The sun baked the national roads scalding. The returning procession of His Imperial Highness The Prince and Her Imperial Highness The Princess had initiated from Andrew Haila on the 14th day of the 8th month. By the 20th, it had already passed by a large half of the Narcissus County. Along the way, both the Imperial household members had already visited quite a few downright enormous strongholds and barracks. Alanis had no interest in these because, in her eyes, all these knights born with a low status were all similar looking. However, she knew that the little Prince was rather enjoying himself, so she forced herself to put on a smile.
Before Oscar departed, he had consulted the scholar of his family regarding the aspects of diplomacy. Since the Emperor had ordered him to take up the task of welcoming the Imperial Envoy of Italia’s Royal Household, he should not humiliate himself or the country. However, the teen quickly realized that he had wasted one of his precious resources; he had forgotten that he had an extremely reputable diplomat on his side.
Toby Ryan Creech, the son of the former dynasty’s Secretary of State. This youngster was arrested and sent to prison because he pretended to be a diplomatic envoy, and naturally, he was an expert in this field. When the little Prince requested help from this skillful impostor who had assumed the name of Baron Erbe, Ricky agreed to help him settle the details of his diplomatic speech, protocols, and few other aspects.
"Ricky, why do you want to be a conman? Could it be that bad being a genuine diplomat?" Oscar was a little curious, he realized that after all these years, he had never asked his friend about his motive of committing the crime. "I believe that if you are willing to, then you will definitely be more outstanding than anyone else."
"Of course Your Imperial Highness, I also thought so!" Baron Erbe nodded his head, "however, you’ve got a point wrong there, the so-called diplomats are the true swindlers! Their mouths speak of getting along peacefully while in actuality, they secretly instigated an armed rebellion and conducted intelligence work."
"Who did you hear that from?" Oscar was unconvinced. In his eyes, a true diplomat should naturally have characteristics and personal integrity that would cause another to have faith in them.
"Do you know how my family gained fame and fortune?" Baron Erbe did not directly answer the youngster’s question.
"I am not too clear."
"Let me tell you," the Baron moistened the side of his cigarette paper with saliva, "my clan has produced many diplomats; towards the end, they even controlled all the external activities of the Empire’s Secret Service Department. Quite a few Emperors of the Morisette Dynasty relied heavily on the Creech household in foreign affairs. This situation persisted for several generations until a certain Emperor became worried of our house going wrong, and so they dismissed us from the field of the Secret Service, and allowed our family’s leader to assume office as the Secretary of State."
"Then after that, the Creech family slowly weakened?"
"Yes, Your Imperial Highness, the Imperial Household of Morisette discarded the once diplomatic experts." Ricky lighted his cigarette.
"Oh, that’s right, you haven’t told me why you want to become a conman."
"No, Your Imperial Highness, please forgive me, this is a topic I wish to bring to the grave," Ricky replied deadpan.
"Suit yourself!" Oscar shrugged nonchalantly.
***************
The procession continued on their journey. Murat, the Division Commander of Red Tiger Assault Division, regulated the procession strictly. He had to continuously send out scouts to the surroundings and to keep an eye on the supplementary soldiers. These supplementary soldiers were all young lads who had recently just joined the knight’s regiment. Among them were even those who had not reached their drinking age yet.
Murat was greatly perturbed about his recruits. For starters, these recruits had caused a lot of problems during the march, such as suddenly falling ill, shouting the wrong call sign, failing to distinguish between enemies and allies, startling the horses so much that they went out of control, dozing off during their night guard duty and so on. When Murat thought about these, he felt deeply ashamed of himself. Now he was indeed like a nanny who was looking after others’ children. Furthermore, he also had a prominent rank of a Major General Commander.
Kamille Rayen was again walking together with the little Prince. This paladin had just received a promotion and now he was the Red Tiger’s battle commander. The paladin felt a little sorrowful thinking of the countless soldiers of his who had already fallen. Did His Imperial Highness The Prince want to go welcome these Italians? And even wanted to do so with an amicable attitude? When Kamille thought about this, he felt deeply wronged. However, he knew that this was something that could not be helped.
His Imperial Highness The Prince Oscar was evidently brimming with curiosity towards visiting the Royal Household of Italia. This youngster did not like to take out his anger on others; that was a sign of the weak. When he encountered problems, he was used to giving it a three-second thought. Only three seconds was needed for him to distinguish between foes and allies. The lineage of the Royal Household of Italia was not noble, but they did have a history that compared to that of the Titan’s Imperial household. However, just basing solely on this point was sufficient to earn teen’s respect. This was because Oscar understood that a ruler who could stand tall for hundreds of years among the Western powers was definitely full of wisdom. He believed that the Royal Household of Italia would not do things that were obviously digging their own grave.
Her Imperial Highness The Princess, on the other hand, did not dwell much with rushing here and there. Having been used to being the Empire’s Princess, she still preferred people to submit to her reports while kneeling respectfully by her feet. Although this did not mean that Her Imperial Highness Princess lacked her own views, but most of the time, this princess was feeling indeed a little lackadaisical.
However, the young lady from the house of Andrew, on the other hand, saw the Princess’ laziness quite thoroughly. She even mentioned to her brother that the Princess’ character was more or less like that of her Emperor father. She appeared as if she was unconcerned about the matter, but when you brought it up, the Princess would shoot you a glare so powerful it felt like it was scooping your heart out.
"Sasha, Alanis is an extremely brilliant girl, she is different from all the other princesses!"
The young lady accepted her brother’s evaluation of Her Imperial Highness Princess. She felt that she herself had to be on guard because since she accompanied her brother to begin the journey. This princess had been eyeing her with an extremely strange look. Although it was not to the extent of wanting to scoop out her heart, the young lady already felt extremely uncomfortable.
The procession rested a day at a city in the Narcissus County that was nearest to the Empire’s southeastern part for the purposes of reorganization. The Prince brought the young lady to visit a few local commanding officers of the United Army and the Front’s garrison. This was the defending region of the Liszt Front. At that moment, the Commander and the Second in Command of the Liszt Front were leading the main force of the army to cruise along the national border of Italia, so when His Imperial Highness The Prince entered the city, he was not met by the whole military.
The procession was going to enter the southern mountain area next. Although Bodega Province’s terrain was fairly level, Murat still organized for people to help change the gears of the procession with equipment that were more suited for marching and combat in the mountainous terrains.
Andrew had control over the Eastern border of the Titan Empire; his piece of land was illustrated on the map as a long and narrow zone from the south to the north. The Narcissus Knight Regiment was probably the only unit in the world to have carried out battles in all sorts of terrestrial environments because the geographical environments of Andrew’s territories were highly complicated. The basin plains intertwined among the towering mountains, the rivers and lakes crisscrossed within the primitive forest; towards the most Eastern part of the territory, the vegetation became more and more overgrown and signs of human habitation become less and less. When you realized that the last of the shrubs had disappeared behind you, then a vast desert, as far as the eyes could see, would then emerge before you.
The Red Tiger Assault Division had once been the heroic army, battling from one place to another in Narcissus. They had the rich experience of carrying out battle on all types of terrains. Although at that moment they had already lost a big ounce of outstanding fighting manpower, this was not important, the crucial point was that Murat was still here! His Imperial Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette was not entirely clear about Murat’s ability to command because he had yet to have the opportunity to witness the Assault Division Commander, who was leading the Red Tigers, putting his assault methods to use.
There were two occasions that opportunities like this arose, but the little Prince had missed both of them. The first time was a night raid; Murat had led the entire Red Tiger Division to surround the Persian Assassination unit's camp. At that time, the youngster was by a small brook, humiliating the Mogadishu Princess; another time was during an ambush when they were supporting the Traisen Front. At that time, there was a heavy rain and the youngster was at the outskirts of the battlefield, unable to differentiate between north and south and; there was no need to further mention about seeing anything worth learning.
Although the new recruits brought about a lot of problems to Murat, the Red Tigers still managed to complete the changing of gears and all necessary preparations within the allocated time. The Knights’ traveling knapsacks had an additional rope for climbing, it also had small-sized, bladed weapons that were suitable for close combat and to hurl, for example, the hook cables and throwing axes. If they were to fight in the jungle, the reflected rays of light on the surface of the metal armor would have caused the knights on the horses to turn into a mini Sun, so the knights had replaced the wax-oil used for armor maintenance with a dark brown, heavy wax. Once the heavy wax was rubbed onto the armors, it would become dull and this way, the knights could avoid being the targets of certain marksmen.
The Knights’ warhorses were the last to have their gears changed. Changing the horseshoes was an arduous chore. It would not be so if they cooperated, but they didn’t. It, more often than not, might take up a whole afternoon. However, this rigmarole which the Knights went through was worth it, the warhorses who had their horseshoes changed avoided having their feet slip on the mountainous region. Thus, the knights could feel at ease navigating their horses.
Under the assistance of the Liszt Front’s Senior Officer of Military Supplies, practically every member of the Red Tiger soldiers received a poncho. The rainy season of the southern region was still at its fiercest. To enter the mountains at this period of time, one must prepare an adequate amount of rainwear to shield against the wind and the rain.
Once Murat had finished settling all these things, he then reported to the little Prince. He could tell that the youngster was listening attentively, moreover, the lad also instructed him to add on additional rain tarps for the carriages stowing the army provisions. Murat was stunned for a while; this was his own carelessness, he only took into account the people and horses but had forgotten about the rations that the people and horses needed. If the flour and hay were to be soaked in the rain, they would become moldy and go bad quickly. Murat was a little suspicious, how did the teen know of this? This was an issue that even he, a seasoned soldier in marching and warfare, had overlooked.
He only knew, after asking, that the youngster had already suffered losses on his journey home from Dulin. After his procession was attacked, he had lost all the box wagons. In the end, the rain had washed the army provisions away. In the late part of the journey, he and Kamille’s Cavalry Company ate the what was provided by the mountain division.
"I really do not wish for you to be humiliated like Kamille!"
Although the little prince criticized him, Murat cheerfully accepted it. He was glad that this child did not forget the Red Tigers; he had already considered the Red Tigers to be an important party on his side!
***************
It was the 23rd day of the 8th month of Year 791 on Titan Empire’s Divine Light Calendar, O’Neil Andrew Morisette once again saw the boundary stone that stood on one side of the family territory. The inscriptions on it had once deeply touched this young lad.
"Here dwells Andrew, his knights and his people, welcome to the first and also the final defensive line set up by the God of Light!" Oscar stopped in front of the boundary stone and again read it silently.
"Just a blink of an eye and it is already another month!" Sasha approached riding on the horse, "just a while more brother, and it will be your sixteenth birthday; brother, you’re about to become an adult!"
Oscar grinned at the young lady. He did not care much about himself who was about to become a year older soon. "Sasha, once we step over this boundary stone, it will signify that we have completely left home; although we have our family’s blessings with us... are you afraid?"
"Yes, afraid!"
Oscar was startled; he did not imagine that his younger sister would answer this straightforwardly. "What are you afraid of? Can you talk to me about it?
"Afraid of LeFou! He seemed to be very much disgusted with the Narcissus perfume, as soon as I get close to him, it is as if he wants to pounce on me."
"Hahaha! So it is actually that little leopard!" Oscar broke into laughter, "Don’t you worry! I will secretly get rid of it, no one will know." The teen seemed as if he had resumed his ambitious and ruthless character back when he was in Damorga.
"Forget about it brother, if this world has things that scare you, it may not be such a bad thing."
"Why?"
"Because that will cause you to develop a fighting spirit, to make a stand and fight." Sasha gazed at the boundary stone, lost in thought; she would not tell Oscar what she was truly afraid of.
"Yes, that’s right." The prince nodded his head. He turned around and looked at the family territories behind him; he only saw low hills connected to the mountains in the distant, and the tall, lush, green grass drooping down dispiritedly under the scorching sun.
"It’s a little barren!" The prince commented, not without feeling a little sorrowful. In order to go through with the act to the end, the family did not send out any people of significance to send them off. Now, standing before the boundary stone, were only the youngster and his sister.
"Sasha, are you ready?" The Prince extended his hand towards the young lady, "On the other side of the boundary stone is a whole other world! A world where we need to fight continuously!"
"Brother, I have been prepared since a long time ago!" Sasha placed her hand on the Prince’s huge hand.
"Promise me, will you? Don’t call me brother anymore, you can call me Oscar like how others do."
Sasha’s face was suddenly flushed; Oscar gazed upon this beautiful sight without blinking.
"I… I’m afraid I will not be able to! It is too awkward! I’m not used to it at all." Sasha exclaimed while inclining her head to one side, she could not bear her brother’s watchful stare.
"No, Sasha! You will have ample time to get used to it! Perhaps a whole lifetime, I can’t say for sure!" Oscar lifted Sasha swiftly off from her little female horse. The young lady gave a yelp and just when she was about to struggle, she found herself already tightly in her brother’s… Oh no! In Oscar’s embrace!"
"My Raytheon!" The teen called out while laughing, "You little beast! Even though we’ve left our parents and left our homes, look at the lands in the west, we will be free to ride as we please there! Take me there!"
The youngster’s Raytheon Stallion seemed to have understood its young master’s words! It arched its neck and let out a deafening neigh, the earth began to fall backward with tremendous speed, the sceneries were starting to be left behind quickly. Being able to ride freely was an amazing feeling!
His Imperial Highness Prince O’Neil and the beautiful girl who was to accompany him for the rest of his life embarked on their new journey. Surely at that moment, the young boy did not know that once they left, it would be a very long time. When both of them once again returned home hand in hand, although O’Neil Andrew Morisette would still the prince of Titan, he would at that time, be the entire Empire’s true ruler.
***************
"Your Imperial Highness Princess!" The Red Tiger Division Commander, Major General Murat knocked respectfully on the door of the carriage that the Imperial Household was riding in.
"What is it?" Alanis opened her carriage window.
"Your Imperial Highness, I have come across some problems." Murat appeared flustered.
"Would you mind telling me about it?" Alanis chuckled. During this journey, she had built up a friendship with this higher order Narcissus Knight. Murat was not like any of the other ordinary soldiers; he was not only born from a blue-blood family in Narcissus County, but his looks, his speech, his knowledge and other aspects were all exceedingly remarkable.
"Your Imperial Highness, it’s like this! The one who came to greet us was The First Mountain Division of the Empire’s Seventh District’s First Army. They brought to us the warrant from His Majesty the Emperor, permitting my division to enter the country, but I do not know where my direct commanding officer, which is His Imperial Highness The Prince, has run off to; I cannot find a person of suitable status to sign the acceptance!"
"Hold on a minute!" Alanis felt extremely astonished! "Enter into the country? Your Distinguished Major General, are you really using this phrase? This is too weird, it’s not like the Narcissus County is a foreign country!"
"Your Imperial Highness!" Murat could only give a bitter laugh for the Princess’ question, "Any issues regarding the shift in the Narcissus knights’ armed forces have been recorded in the Titan Codex. On it, it states clearly that if any Narcissus knight group and above were to step out of Andrew’s territories, then, to show approval, it requires a written order from His Majesty the Emperor."
Alanis suddenly came to a realization and nodded her head; she immediately understood what all this was about! However, she instantly crinkled up her face into a smile, "Then very well! My status should be adequate to accept my Father’s Order!" Saying this, she then took the pen the Major General handed over to her and signed her position and her full name at the inscription area of the order document.
"Thank you, Your Imperial Highness!" Murat joined in on the laugh. He carefully took the order document and, after waiting for the ink to dry, rolled it up. "Your Imperial Highness, we can now be on our way!"
"Certainly. However, can you tell me where His Imperial Highness Prince had gone off to?" The Princess was still smiling beautifully.
"I apologize Your Imperial Highness, I myself am not clear as well, he went off by himself over to the boundary stone," Murat replied readily, not revealing any hints that he was hiding a few things.
"Oh…" The Princess nodded her head lightly.
"Your Imperial Highness, it seems that you are extremely concerned about our young master from the House of Andrew!" Murat did not mind chatting about casual matters within the Princess’ acceptable standards.
"Hehe, he is my younger cousin, and speaking of which, among those of similar age in the Imperial Household, I really only have this one younger brother!" The Princess said that while closing the carriage windows, "So being concerned about him is only what I am supposed to do."
Murat saluted respectfully outside the carriage, but he did not wait for the Princess to respond. Alanis’ heart was very confused, but she dared not and would not express any of her irritated feelings. She had been taught by the Imperial Household’s Court Tutor to keep her feelings to herself. However, very few people knew that this Imperial Highness Princess’ success throughout her whole life was attained through the motivation given to her by a youngster.
When she was young, that humiliating and terrifying matter had long since been embedded deeply into Princess Alanis Alfa Morisette’s mind. She would never forget that youngster who appeared to never be able to be knocked down by others. She knew that that youngster from that moment on had seized her heart.
During the later days, His Imperial Highness Prince and his Red Tiger Division sped up their advancement. They had received news that the visiting group of the Italia’s Royal Household had already entered the country.
What was out of Oscar’s expectation was that the Division Commander of 1-1 Division of the Seventh Region sent by the Empire’s front to join him, to his surprise, was still the same person. When Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt Brandy met the youngster, he still revered in him like before. This officer of the Imperial guards knelt down on one knee, his chest closely pressed up against his thigh. Oscar pulled him up off the ground delightedly. The youngster was aware that his direct knights were watching and he felt a twinge of happiness.
The next part of the journey became more meaningful; Kamille Rayen and the Division commander of the 1-1 Snow Lions, both knew the youngster. Oscar was practically inseparable from these two men and they apparently have neverending issues to discuss. As the leader of the Prince’s direct cavalry, Murat did not complain about the cold shoulder given to him, on the contrary, he was still quite busy. Murat’s supplementary soldiers had already started to undergo the first phase of their training. Murat had set up a rich curriculum. This included pitching tents, digging a trench, building a fence, cleaning and maintaining the war equipment, road repairs, carriage repairs, bathing the horses, feeding the horses, and also the most hated among the recruits, shining their boots.
Both the heroic armies of the Red Tigers and Snow Lions, that similarly had a legend, had no issues of communication between them. Although both soldiers on each side had distinct army camps, they would usually still slip into the other’s campgrounds to have a chat after dinner or during their rest time. Most of the soldiers of the Snow Lions came from the area where the snow line was higher in the southern mountain area and because they had a rosy complexion, the Red Tiger soldiers loved to call them "The mountain people who loved to blush"; the huge red cloaks of the Red Tiger knights inspired the Snow Lion soldiers and they returned the Red Tiger’s compliment with, "The people of Narcissus who carried a huge strawberry"!
Although the daily 19km army progress caused him to feel extremely exhausted, His Imperial Highness Prince just loved this kind of atmosphere. Each day, he could watch the knights set out in a formation early in the morning, in the afternoon he would see them collapse in a bundle together as adorable as guinea pigs catching up on sleep. When night came, there were many more activities engaged in by the knights. There were wrestling, trial of strength, sword fight and so on. Those who enjoyed bodybuilding, under the pressure of the busybodies, would strip their shirts and trousers to compare their muscles. In the end, such development caused a few females in the procession dared not leave their tents alone at night.
In a day, the little prince only had the opportunity to properly lie flat on the bed after the sun had gone down. The bed was not very comfortable, but the youngster already could not care much about it. Little Oscar who had been released from prison was constantly changing. Firstly when it came to his character, if he were in Damorga, this youngster would have erupted with anger because the maids broke a cup, and would kill mercilessly just because the secret agents did not salute to him when they passed. Now, he already rarely angered. Furthermore, he had already personally witnessed the fragility and value of life on his family’s battlefield. Secondly, was his life. Since those maids who had an intimate relationship with him were brutally murdered, he had already controlled the number of females that he came into contact with to only a few. Furthermore, his indulgence in cozy furniture had toned down a little; the army camp which did not have a polar bear sofa and, instead just an extremely simple hammock, would be sufficient to satisfy the Prince’s needs.
At that moment, the youngster was sitting on the bed, savoring the mountain area’s special self-made Deer Penis Liquor1 contentedly. Oscar had never heard the term Deer Penis, perhaps this was the dialect that the inhabitants of the mountain had used. Oscar loved the taste of this type of wine; what’s even harder to come by was that this type of low standard liquor, to his surprise, still had quite strong, lingering aftereffects.
"Your Imperial Highness, I have to speak to you about something." Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt Brandy gazed at the youngster a little anxiously. After he watched the young lad finish drinking his third cup of Deer Penis Liquor, he could not bear it any longer. "Your Imperial Highness, where did you get this from?"
"From one of your Regimental Commanders. That chap was acting all mysterious and refused to let me taste it, in the end, I requested one of his followers to steal all of his stock!" The little prince said these while laughing gleefully.
"Uh…" Hyatt scratched his head, he felt that this was a tricky situation, "Your Imperial Highness, this sort of liquor… This sort of liquor is not suitable for children… Ah no, I mean this sort of liquor is only for those grown men to drink."
"I have certainly never heard of that!" Oscar waved his hand, "This is not a big deal, believe me, Hyatt, I have tasted more wine than you."
"This I believe..." Hyatt honestly did not know what to say, "But Your Imperial Highness, this sort of liquor is very strong! It...It can thoroughly stimulate a male’s potential, it...Uhh... Forget about it! In short, you cannot drink anymore!"
Oscar was already almost done drinking; he spread out his hands indifferently. He felt that this Lieutenant Colonel did not make any sense.
"Oh, that’s right Hyatt, I have a question." The little Prince finally put down the wine glass, "According to my knowledge... The Narcissus Knights Regiment and the Imperial guards treat the setup of the ranks of Commissioned Officers the same, but why does the Red Tiger have a Major General Division Commander while you are merely a Lieutenant Colonel? Both are heroic armies, and both are of the division level, so why do you and Murat have such a huge difference?"
Hyatt gazed at the youngster suspiciously, "you don’t know?"
"Of course, if I knew, would I still have asked you?"
"Hehe," Hyatt gave a bitter laugh, "Your Imperial Highness, it seems that you really have stayed too long in prison so much so that you already lost the awareness of a noble, you know? When your Division Commander is not in uniform, he is Count Murat, but as for me? After I take off my uniform, I am the son of a forest keeper. This is the fundamental reason behind why I am a Lieutenant Colonel while Division Commander Murat is a Major General."
"No wonder!" Oscar was very bright; he realized right away that Hyatt was an officer born of commoners.
Having a disparity in identities, the class status was very different. Both Oscar and Hyatt both thought about these existing differences between them.
"Your Imperial Highness, do you believe? If you were to join the army with the status of the Empire’s Prince, then you would immediately be awarded a Lieutenant General or even the military rank of General; while if it were a commoner, let me just tell you this, a Major General would be the end point of his military career. In the history of Titan, there hasn’t been even one commoner who could break through the threshold of a Major General."
"That can’t be!" Oscar was utterly appalled, "this is absolutely not fair! Don’t tell me that the officers born a commoner do not have the ability to command a corps or even a region?"
"Your Imperial Highness, I am delighted to talk to you, but it also makes me feel very depressed," Hyatt’s smile was filled with frustration, "Your Imperial Highness, I think it’s still best if you not bring this up with anyone. Because... if the other is a noble, he will definitely feel that you are impervious to reason; if it is a commoner, then he will definitely feel that you are a fake noble."
"You mean to say that... nobles won’t think like I do?" Oscar had difficulty believing.
"Of course not, but there are definitely not many who think like you. Because... Because... how do I put it?" Hyatt carefully deliberated his speech, "Your Imperial Highness, because this is a kind of mindset! The tradition and customs of the Empire’s noble class did not include an understanding of the commoners. Take a look, the lands are the nobles’, the forests are the nobles’, the mines are the nobles’, even the rivers are named after the noble. This country belongs to the nobles and it has absolutely nothing to do with the commoners, so who then would care about the commoners’ views?"
Oscar shook his head continuously, "No! No! You are wrong! How can this country have nothing to do with the commoners? This country’s everything is built up by the commoners’ hands, bit by bit, from barren land!"
"That’s right!" Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt’s raised his voice, "But everything that the commoners construct, all goes back to the nobles, and Titan... is ultimately founded by the nobles. The existence and development of this country are for the nobles."
The little Prince was dumbstruck.
"Your Imperial Highness, you still don’t know! For years, the riches that the nobles obtained from the commoners already dwindled and for this reason, they could only constantly emerge with new methods to rob! Just like when I was young, there was a huge lake outside the doors of my home. I loved to eat the big-eyed whitebait in the lake the most. However, one day my family and I were suddenly informed that the big-eyed whitebait in the lake was the private property of a Baron in the city and those who caught this particular fish had to pay taxes to the Baron. Hehe, by the time I became a grown man, the things that the lake produced had already been divided completely."
"This...This is not fair!" The youngster insisted.
Hyatt stared at the youngster, thinking, and he suddenly came to a realization, "I understand Your Imperial Highness, you were born of the Andrew Family. The nobles of the Andrew Family are the ones who respect the commoners the most in the world because their wars are entirely supported by the people. If there was no backing and support from the people, if none of the people joined the army with no turning back, I believe the Andrew family would have long since perished!"
"Yes, I come from Andrew, you are right!" Oscar pondered, "the mindsets of the people at home and the nobles of the Empire here, were completely different. In the Narcissus Knights, a majority of the high-ranking military officers are born of commoners, and on the contrary, the nobles only make up a few of them."
"Yes!" Hyatt exhibited a yearning expression, "the people say that if you want to join the army, then go to Narcissus County. The commoners are like this, even some of the noble families are like this; they send their child to the Narcissus Knights because it was definitely not a conceited Imperial Guard Government Office, but rather a place where they nurtured the true men."
"Yes, do you know? Even the grandson of the Empire’s Military Affairs Chancellor, Marshal Alan, is serving in the army under the banner of the Andrew Family." Oscar recalled the young Major General, but the lad’s name had slipped his mind.
Having said as much, it tent suddenly fell silent. It seemed both of them no longer had the desire to continue speaking of the issue about the nobles.
"A change of topic?" Oscar voiced up.
"Certainly Your Imperial Highness."
The prince crawled up from his bed, "Hey! I say, Hyatt, how do you retain your military office? The Princess and I had the accident in your defending region and according to what you said, you would have definitely been removed from office and even punished according to the law. Originally I already planned that I must come to your rescue when I went over to the south, but now I see that you are, to my surprise, getting by quite nicely!"
"Your Imperial Highness..." Hyatt groaned, " this is another issue that makes me feel depressed, but... after I answer, will you look down on me?"
"Why would I do that?"
"Then very well! Ten years ago when I just enlisted, a beautiful noble young lady and I were in love. At first, I thought that that young lady’s family would not accept a commoner, but out of my expectations, I really received the General’s recognition. He did not hesitate one bit to marry off his only daughter to me. So... So this time I was able to escape punishment by law, was all because of my father-in-law’s protection. This also means that I depended on nepotism to survive it."
"Who is that general?"
"The Empire’s General, the Commander of the Imperial Guard’s Southern Army Group, Eugene Mir Bradley."
"You’re saying... you’re saying that you are the son-in-law of the Commander of the three Southern Military Region?"
"That’s right! Marrying off a lady countess to a commoner. In the entire world, only General Eugene would do such a thing."
"No, Hyatt, you should not think that way." The prince patted Hyatt on the shoulder like an adult, "General Eugene did nothing wrong, he found the best home for his daughter."
Hyatt’s eyes unexpectedly reddened, "Your Imperial Highness, hehe, to be honest, over so many years, you are the first to say this. Others are pressuring me, others feel that it is not worth it for my wife, they..."
"Hyatt." Oscar interrupted the Lieutenant Colonel’s words, "You are the Division Commander of the 1-1 Snow Lions. You are the fiercest and most ruthless of them all! The others may say that, could it be that you then think that way as well? They are scums, vermins! The sole reason they live in this world is to gossip about others. I believe my judgment, what’s more, my judgment has already been acknowledged by General Eugene. You, a commoner, are a good man! A good example!"
"Thank you!" Hyatt felt a little emotional; he wanted to quickly end the topic. "So... Your Imperial Highness, it’s already very late, I should take my leave."
Without waiting for the Prince’s answer, Hyatt turned around and walked away. However, after some pondering, he turned back, "Your Imperial Highness, I am confiscating this bottle of liquor. It being close to you is highly dangerous, it will cause you to... have nightmares."
Before Oscar could respond, the Division Commander of the Snow Lions already snatched the bottle of liquor and slipped away.
Oscar looked at the tent that seemed to be rising and falling, lost in thought. He now started to suspect that that bottle of liquor indeed had problems.
The problem was indeed very grave!
Oscar already did not know the number of times he got up from bed; he felt that his heart was palpitating wildly in his chest. Moreover, a certain thing at his lower abdomen was swelling like it never had before! Damn it! The prince cursed in a low voice. He now finally understood why only grown men could drink that bottle of liquor.
His head was dizzy, his eyelids were heavy, but his mind was extremely excited. What was this all about? What kind of feeling was this? Oscar was suddenly filled with the urge to run a few rounds around the camp.
Just do it!
"Your Imperial Highness!" The knight bodyguard patrolling that night saluted the prince.
Oscar wanted to ask them all to move aside, but the knight bodyguard on duty refused to budge despite anything he said. Feeling helpless, the Prince could only turn and head towards a secluded spot in the camp.
When passing by one of the tents, Oscar suddenly heard some faint singing. The youngster was a little emotionally moved; he subconsciously stopped to listen.
"Oh faraway homeland, where Narcissus bloom, that pearly white radiance, paves my way home, I’m going home! I’m going home! At home, my family awaits, and the pearly white Narcissus."
"Annie’s lullaby!" Oscar recalled that this was a nursery rhyme that had accompanied him through countless nights.
"Oh goodness, gracious! How long have you been standing there?" Annie, who was knitting a woolen sweater, suddenly noticed the youngster’s silhouette under the candlelight.
"Annie, you still followed me here?" Oscar gazed at this lady who had watched him grow up and sighed heavily.
"Or else, where else can I go?"
Oscar’s mind was not very clear, he was not sure whether he first apologized to Annie, or he first carried her to the bed and caressed her before talking.
"Uh... Annie, in Andrew Haila, I think that both of us have already calmed down a little, right?" Oscar rubbed his nose; this was a gesture that he did whenever he felt awkward or nervous.
"No, there is not a moment when I can calm down. In the cemetery of Valhalla, I heard the words that you spoke to Kamille from a distant, do you know? My heart was almost shattered! Furthermore, you secretly ran onto the battlefield, I can’t even tell you how I felt when I heard that piece of news because even though you have cast me aside, at least I still get to see you. However, if you..."
"Annie!" Oscar scuttled forwards swiftly. Under the Countess’ stunned gaze, he embraced the Madame tightly.
"Oh god! Wait a minute!" Annie pushed the teen away, "You are having a high fever, and your body heat almost burned me. How come no one told me that you were sick? What are those followers of yours doing? Oh goodness, gracious! They are as expected, a group of people who cannot be trusted!"
It was unclear whether Annie was just being worried or getting angry. She aggressively pushed the youngster onto the bed that still lingered with the smell of a woman.
Oscar started to give off an abnormal moan. This feeling was great, there was already a person on the bed, is there not?
Annie was muttering on and on. She flipped open her first aid kit and prepared a warm, wet towel.
"Come closer a little!" "Come closer a little!" Oscar called out silently!
"Good!" The youngster’s hands made contact with tinder that could ignite all things, "I’ve caught you!"
The knight bodyguards who were on duty to guard His Imperial Highness Prince that night stood in a row outside Countess Antonia Horman’s tent. They would not let anyone approach this tent, particularly when the beautiful lady was crying out with sheer joy.
"You rascal! Have you eaten something wrong?"
"Annie, don’t talk... Now... Now is not the time to say these!"
Translator Note:
1. Deer Penis Liquor translated from the Mandarin term 鹿鞭泡酒
